Shaw as an Israeli -WTF?
Who came up with that casting?
shareShaw came out of Jaws as a huge breakout star; they stuck him in anything 'action-y':
The Deep, Diamonds, Force Ten, Swashbuckler...
Hey folks,
It should be remembered that after World War II, Jews from many different nations emigrated to Palestine. After the United Nations recognized Israel as an independent nation in 1947, more Jewish folks emigrated to the new nation-state in support of its future. Many of those emigres were not dark haired, brown eyed, and dark skinned folks. Many came from countries where light hair, blue eyes, and fair skin are common features. Robert Shaw, even with his accent, certainly could have been a Jewish émigré from England or wherever.
Most of the Jewish folks I know in Pennsylvania are usually dark haired, but they certainly are pretty much light skinned and could pass for Italian or other nationalities. There are a smaller number of Jewish folks here who actually have fair hair as well as blue eyes.
While I am not Jewish, some of my ancestors were. During the October War of 1973, I gave serious consideration to the idea of my own emigration to Israel. Looking back now, I am glad I did not do so, but the point is that I certainly may have done so. If I had, there would be one more light haired, blue eyed, fair skinned citizen there, so Shaw is not a miscast Israeli.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
This.
Even today Israel is much more melting-pot-ish than we think in the US (with stereotypes and pretty large ethnic groupings), but in the 70s a lot of Israeli residents his age actually were raised in other countries and had emigrated with their families in the late 40s.